34 comments/ 29503 views/ 14 favorites Where Angels Fear to Tread By: Daniellekitten He landed hard, the hard jolt of the sidewalk hurt and made him clench his teeth. Standing, he brushed at the jeans that he wore and the long trench coat that fell to about his knees. "Why here?" he said, knowing the one he was talking to was listening. "Because here is where you are needed." The voice came from behind him and he spun, staring at the tiny girl in a very frilly little dress, tiny white gloves on her hands and black patent leather shoes on her feet. David burst out laughing, flicking his finger at one of the big sausage style curls on the tyke's head. "Nice, do you do talking dogs as well?" he grinned. "If I did, it would be to bite your ass," the little girl told him, a sweet smile upon her face. "I expected burning bushes and plagues that would wipe out millions and you give me this?" "Plagues can be boring," the girl said softly. "Mankind is too close to wiping itself out as it is, they don't need my help." "Then why send me down here. Why now?" "You're unhappy," the girl said. "When you're unhappy, you cause mischief and I'm trying to stop it this time. I have a plan for you, David Stewart. But first, you need this." She opened her small white purse with her gloved hands and pulled out a ticket. "When you finish, I will show you your next task," she said, holding up the ticket. David took it, not too surprised to see the girl disappear. "A train ticket? You kick me out of heaven, throw me down to wade through this sorry lot we call humanity and you leave me with nothing more than a fucking train ticket?" He turned a complete circle, waiting for a response that wasn't coming. "What the hell," he growled, kicking at a small stone that sat on the sidewalk. "I might as well play along until he comes to his senses and let's me back in." Going to the nearest store window, he checked out his reflection, smiling and then frowning. Brown eyes stared back at him, wide spaced with heavy lashes any woman would kill to have. A slender nose sat atop firm but full masculine lips. Evenly spaced white teeth peeped from between his lips as he smiled. He ran a hand through the dark hair that was a bit long and too shaggy for his liking, but he'd adjust. It wasn't as if he'd bent sent own here to get a fucking haircut. Of course, knowing the deity that had so suddenly kicked him out of the pearly gates, you never knew. "God and his fucking sense of humor," he hissed, seeing a woman behind him in the reflection cover her mouth and move quickly away from him. "Okay, train. I have to catch the train." He turned, taking off at a quick gait, his long legs eating up the ground. Soon he was in the train station and sitting on one of the benches staring at the disreputable people who called the place home. "Why do you have to hassle me so much when these people need help?" he hissed under his breath even though he knew the answer. Free will, it was something that He firmly believed in. But it didn't look like free will had done much for these people. It seemed as if their will had been stripped off them and now they sat day after day, never trying to do anything more than make it through that day. He was so glad when his train was called that he almost danced his way down to the right track. "Thank God," he said, climbing onto the train. He handed the conductor his ticket and moved down the seats, finally taking one. But he didn't sit long. David had been put here for a reason and he had to find it. "Okay, God," he whispered, "bring it on." He changed cars, stepping between them easily enough. The train sounded the loudest between the cars and he closed the door behind him quickly. Looking at the first seat, he saw a petite redhead, her eyes concentrating on the darkness outside the window. "How could I be so stupid and gullible?" she whispered. "It definitely is a human flaw," he said, waiting for her to look up at him. "Is this seat taken?" he waved his hand at the seat across from her. "No," the woman said. She seemed to be trying to control her tears and not succeeding very well. "Mind if I sit then?" he asked. "If you're going to try and pick me up, then yes, I do mind. I've had it with men. I'm swearing off of them." Her rage and hurt was very apparent, the red in her aura almost blaring at him. "Maybe it might help if you got some of it off your chest?" He asked, sitting own from her and crossing his long legs. "I'm David Stewart, by the way. He held his hand out and she took it as if she had no choice not to. Kenna McEwen," she said then she started to hunt through her purse for a tissue. He stuck his hand deep into his pocket and pulled out a clean white handkerchief. "Here," he said, holding it out to here. She blew her nose and then wiped her eyes, stuffing the handkerchief into her pocket. "If you give me an address, I wash it and get it back to you." "No," he said quickly. "That's okay. I have a drawer full of them." Not exactly the truth but she didn't need to know his problems. She seemed to have her own. "It's one of those Christmas gifts that you get every year from your Aunt of your Grandma. Half of them are still in the package," he grinned. "So, Kenna McEwen, what has your Irish up?" "I just found my fiancé with another woman," she said, though it came out half growled. "Nadia," she spat the name as if it tasted bad in her mouth. "How could he have done this to me?" David closed his eyes and read her mind, seeing what she'd seen that had sent her running out of the house and onto this train to a Godforsaken place like Michigan. "Did you find them in bed together?" he asked softly, already knowing the answer. "No, they were in the Salon," she said. "She was sitting on his lap and his hand was on her leg. Her lipstick was on his mouth." "So all he did was kiss her?" "That was enough, don't you think?" she snarled. "Don't tell me you're on his side." I don't know either of you well enough to take sides, Kenna," David said, leaning forward and pulling his overcoat around him more. "But I do think you should have stayed and let him have a chance to explain. There could have been circumstances that you know nothing about," he said. "What circumstances?" she asked. "You tell me what circumstances that could have put her sitting on his lap with her lipstick on his mouth. Give me one good circumstance, Mr. Stewart." "Does his mother like you or even approve of you and your relationship?" he asked the upset girl. "N-No," she said, pulling out his hanky once more to dry the new tears that seemed to never stop leaking out her eyes. "Then do you think she and this Nadia could have set up this whole thing to get rid of you?" "That doesn't explain why he was just sitting there and why he didn't come after me when I left?" David smiled, she was beginning to calm down and think about what he was saying, maybe he was sent to help her find the truth. "Did you see his eyes?" he asked. "No, I was a little distracted by the red lipstick on his lips. What o his eyes have anything to do with this?" Her brows lifted and a line appeared between them as she thought about what he was saying. "Maybe, and I do just mean maybe, someone spiked his drink with something." David said softly, hoping this wouldn't start her going again with the tears. Crying women drove him nuts. "Who would do something like that? I can't see his mother being apart of that even if she hates me. She still loves her son very much. Nicky would disown her if she even thought to be a part of something like that." "Well, what about what's her name, ahhh, Nadia? Would she do it to Nicky?" Come on girl, he thought, put two and two together and for once get four. "I-I don't know. Our first meeting didn't go too well. She brushed me off as being inconsequential and I told her to keep her manicure claws off of my fiancé. I should have torn her hair out," she snarled. "Can you think of any other reason that Nicky would allow her to touch him like that? You can't think he'd do that to you on purpose," David said. He sat forward and took her hands in his. "This all comes down to a matter of trust, Kenna. Do you trust this Nicky? Can you trust him enough to let him explain and give him a chance to tell you his side?" Her hands were cold and he warmed them with his while she thought. He broke into her thoughts, asking the only question that really mattered. "Do you trust him?" "Yes," she said, "but..." "No, no buts," he said. "You need to hold onto that trust for him and not lose hope." He stood, giving her hands one last squeeze before letting them go. "You'll be okay now?" he asked. "Yes," she said, sniffling. "Thank you." "You're more than welcome, Kenna. He looked into her pretty green eyes, staring deeply. Her soul was barren and he allowed a little of his own to warm hers, knowing that a barren soul was lost for hope or anything else. He smiled one last time before pulling away from her and turning to head down the aisle. He'd barely taken two steps when he fell and warm water surrounded him. He coughed, finding the bottom of the swimming pool with his feet and standing up. "Dammit, this isn't funny," he growled, looking around to find the one responsible for this. She was sitting on the side of the pool, about twenty-two with a rack just made for a man's hands. "Nice," he said, staring up and down at the deity. A tiny bikini covered what was necessary and made the suit just this side of indecent. "You know, you keep coming to find me looking like that, I might get to like this thing you seem to think I have to do." She was blonde, he noted now that he could tear his gaze from her rack. "You handled that admirably," she said in a voice that sounded like smoke and soft jazz. "Thanks," David said. "But you didn't give me this dunking just to tell me that." "I thought you might want to see what you helped do, just by a few kind words to a stranger," she rose and he groaned, a part of his anatomy that hadn't been used since his death standing up and taking notice. "Whoa, I remember this," he said softly. "Lust, one of your mortal sins." The blonde rolled her eyes and before his eyes changed to a three hundred pound housewife, but still wearing the same tiny bikini. "You had to ruin a good thing, didn't you," David said, "Please," he said, before my eyes melt." The blonde was back but now she was wearing a nurse's uniform and she walked into a hospital room. "Can they see me?" David asked. "No, so keep it quiet." "I do," Nicky said, smiling down at the petite redhead who lay in the hospital bed. "So they do get back together. I thought they would." David walked out of the room, feeling a warmth he hadn't felt in a long while. "Yes, they got back together and their son that she's carrying even now is going to do grand things for this world." "What, is he going to develop a better tasting lubricant for those dry years?" David started walking down the hall only to find himself once more ending up in water. He put his feet down sending the water splashing out of his eyes with a shake of his head. "God, dammit all, what is your deal?" "Just making sure you're listening, David." The blonde stood next to the pool and watched as he got to the side and heaved himself out of the pool "I don't have much choice but to listen, now do I?" he asked, standing up and towering over the slender blonde. "I'm glad you see it my way," she said. She reached behind her back and pulled out another ticket. "What's this?" David growled, afraid to handle it with his wet hands. He pulled off the unneeded overcoat and draped it over a chair but there wasn't much he could do about the wet tee shirt and jeans, or his boots that made a squelching sound with every step he took. "It's a ticket," she said, giving a little giggle that made her breasts jiggle and that caught David's eyes. "I know it's a ticket," he said to her boobs, "but what's it for?" God sighed. David was impossible. Slowly he changed until he was a sixty year old man whose beer belly hung like an awning over his dick. He burped, and David took a step back. "I hate it when you do that," he growled. "Well, I hate being thought of as nothing but a pair of boobs," he said, burping again while scratching at his rather bulging belly. "Fine, just give me the assignment and send me on my way, preferably with some clean, dry clothes." He took the ticket out of the old man's hand, reading it. "Ick, a bus this time? Do you know what kind of people ride buses?" "The kind that are going to be your assignment. Don't blow this one," he said before turning to walk away, at the last minute waving his hand and drying David's clothes. "Hurry up, you're going to miss the bus." David glanced down at the ticket and then up. The pool was gone, the backyard with its grilling equipment an sand box were gone. He was standing next to a bus, people behind him pushing as he'd stopped dead to get his equilibrium back. He hurriedly got on the bus and sat down about half way back. Scanning the passengers that came on behind him, he waited to see if he could figure out what God expected of him this time. * * * She was a brunette with big baby blue eyes and a body that was made for sin. She even smelled sinful as she stepped onto the bus, her eyes roaming over the quickly filling seats. As she walked toward him, David smiled lazily, his brown eyes scoping out the entire package. Her hair was long, straight as a pin and left loose around her shoulders. She wore a tank top that looked at least one size too small, straining across her breasts, the logo for a beer company drawing the eyes there, as if that were necessary. Tight jeans looked almost painted on and she was wearing biker boots with a thick silver chain like an anklet around one of the boots. She stopped when she got to his side. "Anyone sitting her?" Her voice was husky and sent a shiver down his spine and straight into his groin. "You are," he said. She gave him a halfway crooked smile as she slid into the leather seat and sat back. "Carlie Romberg," she said, holding out her hand. He took it, holding it gently. "David Stewart." When she tried to take her hand back, he let it go slowly. "So Carlie Romberg, what are you doing on this bus?" "Oh this and that," she answered noncommittally. "Probably more this than that." "Me too," he said, chuckling. "I'm a big fan of this." "Yeah but that can have its rare moments as well." She laughed huskily and he leaned closer. He could only hope that this beauty was his assignment. "So where are you heading?" "Oh," she sat up in the seat as the bus started to move, "that way." David thought of using the powers he'd been given to find out more about this lithe beauty but decided it would be more fun the simple old fashioned way. Talking did have it's good points and two of those were looking lush and braless sitting right next to him. "So who's waiting for you that way?" he asked. "Mom and dad," she said. "Dad had a heart attack and mom can't handle his care on her own." "That's so good of you," he said, "giving up your freedom to go and help our your folks." She rolled her gorgeous blue eyes. "Not really. If I don't then they'll take me out of the will and dad, well he's worth a mint." She smiled, her teeth sparkling white. "So what about you, where are you heading?" "I guess where this bus takes me." He hadn't even really glanced at the destination line of the ticket. But he knew they were headed west and the older couple up front were talking about slots and craps. "Las Vegas it seems to be." David leaned his head back, his eyes closing. Could there be a worse place for a fallen angel to be than Vegas? He sent a mental note to the big guy, making sure that the sarcasm couldn't be misplaced. "Are you okay?" she asked, turning in her seat to look at him. "You seem a little flushed." She laid her hand on his forehead, the other coming around to rest on his knee. It slid up a bit as he opened his eyes and looked into hers. "Are you kidding?" he asked. With that he let his hand rest on hers, sliding it up further and further until she covered his groin. "Does that feel like I'm all right?" Her hand traced the generous bulge and she purred silkily as she squeezed and slid her hand over his fly button jeans. He slid his coat off, placing it across his lap to hide her movements. "It feels like you're pretty alright to me," she said breathlessly. His hand slipped out, burying itself in her silky soft hair and drawing her face over to his. His mouth was hungry on hers, tasting the mint of her toothpaste even as he felt her fingers undoing the buttons on his jeans and pulling his cock out. "What are you doing, minx?" he said against her lips. She bent down, and he happened to glance across the small aisle to the seats across from him. Two guys in their mid twenties sat there, their eyes locked on what was happening in his seat. The first guy nodded, the second gasped out something that sounded like dude and sticking his thumb in the air. Meanwhile, Carlie had her head in his lap and he felt the lapping of her small tongue as she licked her way from the base of his cock to the head. David barely managed to stifle the gasp of pleasure that fought to roll off of his tongue. Instead, he let his head rest against the back as she began to slurp her way around his cock. "Damn, baby, but that feels good." His hand slid from the back of her neck to the ties that kept her tank top on her body. He plucked at them, freeing the shirt so that it fell to the seat beneath her. His hand went down, playing with the soft mounds of her tits, pinching and twisting her hard nipples. His hips began to jerk and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. He'd been without sex almost two hundred years. "I'm going to come," he groaned. She hummed her appreciation, taking his cock as far down her throat as she could. Just as the first spurts were going to erupt, he heard the commotion from the front. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention." David sat up, staring at the young man dressed all in black, a tiny goatee on his face. "This bus has been rigged to explode. I want all of your valuables, including credit cards." He pushed Carlie from his lap, the movement taking almost all the control he had. Then he stuffed his throbbing cock back into his pants, buttoning them even though it hurt like hell. "Stay here, and get dressed, baby," he said, giving her the shirt back. He couldn't help it, he kissed her one last time before getting up. "Whoa, dude," the hijacker said. "Go sit down, now!" "I can't do that," David said slowly. He prodded at the young man's mind, almost sickened by the abuse and brain washing that had been done to him. "This doesn't have to happen," he said. "I know it's what your father would have wanted, what he would have said that would make you a man. But that's not what this is. What you're doing is a crime and you will be caught." "How do you know about my father?" the angry kid said. "Who the fuck are you?" "I'm here to save you from yourself and everything that your father has done. Please," David said softly, "let me help you." The kid looked confused, unsure and David pressed his advantage. "What your father did to you, what he made you do, they weren't your fault, Mark." Hearing his name seemed to freak the kid out. "How do you know me man? How the fuck do you know me?" He drew a 9 mm out of his jeans and started to wave it around. Stepping backward, he saw a woman cringing away from him and grabbed her by the hair. "Come any closer, dude, I don't care who you know, this bitch's brains will be on the side of the fucking bus!" Where Angels Fear to Tread Ch. 02 David held out his hand hoping to calm the boy standing in front of him. He continued to probe into the his thoughts seeing horrifying images of brutality, done to him at the hands of his father and his father's friends. He'd been raped, cut, burned and his father had forced him to have a tattoo done on his ass, saying daddy's boy. "Oh, you must have hated him," David moaned, his head beginning to hurt from the mass of images he was seeing. "You don't know me man, you don't know anything that happened to me, quit fucking pretending you do." The kid backed away further until he was beside the driver. "You'd better shut this fucker up," he growled. "Mister, sit back in your seat," the bus driver almost begged. "I can't," I said softly. "Mark, I know you believe in God." "Yeah, so what the fuck if I do? he asked. "But there's something you don't know, Mark. Something that is much more miraculous than believing in God. That's knowing that he believes in you, too. He believes that you don't want to hurt this nice lady or the bus driver. He knows that you want to give your life to him and let him raise you up. He closed his eyes, letting God use him as a font for the boy. Mark stood still for just a moment and then his expression changed. "Stop the bus," he told the driver. He held the gun on the girl he'd grabbed for just a minute longer. "I'm sorry," he said to her and let her go. She fled crying to her seat. The bus driver opened the doors. "I'm sorry," Mark said to him. He took the last step off and turned to leave. "Wait!" the bus driver called. "What about the bomb?" "There never was one," David said. "How do you know? How do you know all those things you said to him?" "Long story," David said. He winked at the driver and then took three steps back to Carlie and her wonderful mouth and beautiful tits. Then wham, out of nowhere he bumps into a wall and icy cold water was pouring over him. He reached out blindly for the handle to turn the water off. "Dammit, couldn't you let me have just a few more minutes?" He beat his head against the wall until a soft 'ahem' caught his attention. "You look ridiculous," David said, staring at the middle aged woman with her hair up in curlers and face cream smeared over her face. "I didn't put you on that bus to let you get your...your bell rung," she said disgustedly. "You almost missed your cue on that one David. You really need to get your mind out of your pants and on your assignments if you expect to get back to heaven." He stepped over the small lip of the shower, squelching cold water in his boots again. "You know, these are alligator boots, they weren't made for dunking in water." "Quit acting like a tom around a feline in heat and I won't have to dunk you to get your attention. Do you know who sent luscious little Carlie?" "No," David said catching on to what he was saying, "no way. Why would he do that?" "Because he wants chaos and terror and all the things I've sent you down here to stop. You don't think he doesn't have his forces out there too, do you? "But why does he have to be Carlie?" David almost whined. He followed the woman out into a kitchen that was almost too neat. Smelling coffee, he hunted up a cup and poured himself one, turning to look at the woman who had sat down at the table. She shook her head and David turned back to the coffee maker and sat the carafe down. Turning back to the table, he almost dropped his cup. "Oh now that's just sick," he said, staring at the apparition of Carlie, down to the tank top. When she opened her mouth to say something, it came out as God's voice. "Come on, you wanted a couple more minutes with me. Well, here I am." "Man that's just wrong," David said, dropping down across from the beautiful Carlie at the table. "Please, someone else, okay?" "I can do that," God said. The image of Carlie changed to one that almost shocked David into silence. "My grandmother? You had to choose my grandmother?" "Well, now maybe you'll show me some respect. The deep voice coming out of the tiny birdlike woman was freaky. David sipped his coffee, letting his elbows rest on the table. "I didn't raise you like that David Emory Stewart." "Please," David said, "before I need to go see a shrink, can you just give me my next assignment." "This one is a bit difficult," God said. "Like the others weren't? David sat down his cup. "Wait, you're not trying to make me a saint, are you? I mean isn't it three miracles decided by the church dogma that decides who the saints are? I don't want to be a fucking saint." "Why not?" God asked. "Have you ever seen them? They have their noses in the air, walking around like they're you or something." He realized what he'd said a moment before God stood up. "Shit, boss, I'm sorry...OUCH," he yelled rubbing at his arm where God as his grandmother smacked him with her cane. "Stand up!" God said, glaring at him. David stood, still rubbing at his arm. A whoosh of wind had his hair lifting from his head and then he looked down, almost screaming in terror at where he was. Ten inches of cement held his feet from falling off the twenty-seven story building. He stared down at that dizzying height and felt the coffee in his stomach turn. Looking behind him quickly, he jumped own off the ledge and onto the roof of the building. "Shit," he breathed. He rolled his eyes skyward before turning to check out the view. "Who are you?" He spun, the long coat flaring away from him. "I could ask the same of you?" he said, staring at the pretty woman. She had big blue eyes and short blond hair that feel to just the top of her collar. "It doesn't matter who I am," she said softly. "Nothing much matters any more." "Of course it does," David said taking a step to where the woman casually sat atop the very same ledge he'd just jumped down from. "Why don't you come over here and we can talk?" "What's to talk about?" the girl said, swinging one leg over the edge and straddling the edge. She looked as if she could go either way and David knew he'd have to be careful. "Oh there are so many things we could talk about. I'm a bit afraid of heights though, so do you think you could come over here?" "I like it where I am," the girl whispered. She stared down at the drop, her eyes huge. He could hear the sound of fire trucks and police cars pulling up. Their sirens were loud, even up this far. "Will you at least tell me your name?" David asked. "Sheri McMahan," he heard her say, though she didn't quit looking down the long drop. "Sheri, that's a pretty name." "Do you think compliments will keep me from jumping?" she asked, glancing at him. "No, not if you're determined. I'd like to know why though. What could be so terrible to make you give up the hope of heaven for committing suicide?" "Heaven," she said, "yeah right. Like such a place exists. There's nothing after this, absolutely nothing. A black hole where I can go and just forget." "Forget what?" David asked quickly. He saw the tears start in her eyes and she lifted up one of her hands. In it was a picture of a tiny blond baby with her big blue eyes. "Who is that?" "Her name was Joy," Sheri said. "I woke up one morning and realized she'd let me sleep the night. When I got to her crib," she stopped a sob shaking her shoulders. "They said she had SIDS." David glanced up at the heavens above him. He was out of his element here. A suicidal mother who had nothing to lose wasn't his idea of a picnic in the park. "Where's Joy's father?" he asked softly. "Maybe I could call him." "You'd have to call prison. Joy's daddy was a rapist." Open mouth, insert foot and start chewing. Shit! "What about your parents, Sheri? Don't you think they'd miss you?" He moved a bit closer knowing he'd probably not be able to talk this one down. "My mom disowned me when she found out I was keeping a rapist's baby. My dad, he works eighteen hours a day and is never around." "Don't you have anyone? Friends? Family?" "No, I'm alone now that Joy's gone." She turned away from him, staring down at the long drop again. Both of them jumped when the door to the roof slammed open and four policemen burst through it. "Stay back!" Sheri said. I could see her moving her other leg, getting ready to swing it over the ledge. "Sheri wait!" he called, moving closer until she stopped moving and stared at him. "What if I can show you that there is such a thing as heaven and that your baby is there, waiting to be reborn? Will you come off the ledge?" "How?" she asked. "How are you going to do that?" "I would need to touch you," David said. "No, you just want a reason to get close enough to grab me." "How about if I reach out and you touch my fingers," David said. "You'll be touching me, I won't touch you." She seemed to think about it and David could hear the police behind him that were muttering. But they didn't seem likely to interfere. "Okay, but if I think it's some kind of trick..." she let her voice trail off and David knew what she meant. He held out his hand feeling her cold fingers take his. "Close your eyes," he said softly and when she did, he showed her Joy and let her see where her daughter was and what she would be missing if she killed herself. When she opened her eyes, tears streaked down her cheeks. "Is that place real?" she asked David. "It's as real as the ledge you're sitting on, Sheri. Come on, take a chance on life. Someone wonderful could be waiting just around the corner." "O-okay," she said and started to bring her foot back over. A huge gust of wind whipped across the roof and threw her off balance. She screamed as she started to fall. David ran to her, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her back in. Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye and he turned, seeing Carlie standing there, a disgruntled look upon her beautiful face right before she disappeared. The cops hurried forward an d took Sheri out of harms way. He was about to walk toward the steps, waiting to be dropped into a swimming pool or maybe in the middle of the ocean when he was grabbed from behind. "Not so fast, buddy," she said. "I have some questions to ask you." David turned, his eyes growing wide then narrowing at the detective who had hold of his arm. She was plainclothes but she had that cop look in her eyes. Tall and curved in all the right places under her own overcoat, she had blonde hair that she' pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were brown, serious and they narrowed when she noted him giving her the once over. Dressed in jeans and a sweater, she didn't really look old enough to be a cop until you looked into her eyes. "I came, she was here, I talked her out of jumping, what more is there to say?" he said. "Well, we could start with your name?" she said, only just realizing she still held onto him. "You first," David said, enjoying the color that rose to those high cheekbones. "I'm Detective Rayne Hunter," she said, showing him her badge. "David Stewart," he said. "It's nice to meet you Rayne. Now I hope you don't mind but I've got to go." He did, he had to ask a certain deity why Carlie seemed to be following him. "Uh, I don't think so, Mr. Stewart." "It's David, okay. I haven't gone by Mr. Stewart in a century or so." He could have slapped himself for the slip but he could only hope she'd think he was exaggerating. "And I really can't stay." He suddenly found himself against the wall, her arm against his neck her legs between his. The first cuff around his wrist surprised him, when he felt the second one, he began to get mad. Her hand stayed at his back while she began to pat him down, sliding her hand around his waist and over his shoulders before sliding it between his legs. "Now normally, I'd be asking for more or at least wanting your phone number, Rayne. But I'm on a specific mission and I have to leave," David said reasonably enough. "Maybe we could do the whole handcuffs and pat me down one night after dinner and a movie?" "You enjoy listening to yourself talk, don't you?" she said as she lifted his wrist a bit higher to keep control of him. "That's good, I'll be a captive audience when I get you down to the precinct." David glanced up at the heavens. "Anytime now?" he called as Rayne hauled him down the stairs and into the first elevator. "For what?" she said, curiously. "I wasn't talking to you," he said. "Oh," she said, a smile growing on her face. "Who were you speaking too?" "My boss," he said, unwilling to let her think that he was anymore of a space case then he was. "And who is your boss?" she asked, forcing him to step out of the elevator and through the lobby of the building. "Don't I have the right to refuse to answer?" David asked. "You have the right to remain silent, but I don't know if it's in your best interest to do so." Rayne took him to the nearest squad car and sat him inside of it. "You think on that until I get you down at the precinct, okay?" David glanced around seeing a familiar little girl standing off to the side in a group of lookee-loos. She stood there for a moment, seeing she'd gotten his attention and then waggled her fingers at him before disappearing. David's eyes narrowed as the door was shut and he was left with his arms handcuffed behind his back and God obviously not going to step in to help him. "What'd I do to you?" he asked softly. He looked up as a police officer got behind the wheel of the car. He looked back at David and winked. "I've always wanted to drive one of these," he said in a voice that David recognized. "Finally, would you get these damned cuffs off of me?" he growled, his mood grown sour. "Not yet," God said, turning on the sirens with a grin. "This is so cool," he said as the red and blue lights revolved on the top of the car and the siren seemed to be braking David's ears. "Did you see your squeeze up there?" God asked him, staring at him in the rear view mirror. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. Why is she following me?" "Because the people that you are helping are high on his radar as well as mine. He doesn't want them saved, he wants them wiped off the face of this earth. He'll use Carlie to undo the things that you do if you aren't careful. "Can't you just go down and smack him up or something?" David asked, tiring quickly of this little game. "I'm sorry, God. I want to go home." "I'm sorry too, David, but I can't let you go home just yet. There are still things to be done and work for you here." He suddenly turned off the sirens and the lights, pulling into an underground garage. A different voice came from his mouth, this one self assured and slightly cocky. "Come on," he said, getting out of the car and opening the back door. "Detective Hunter wants you upstairs, I take you upstairs." David soon found himself in a dull gray room with a camera up in a corner of the room. A microphone was sitting on top of the table and there was a tiny window that showed a slice of bright blue sky. He was left handcuffed, pushed down on a chair and told to wait there. After five minutes, he was up and pacing, going to the steel enforced window to look outside before starting to pace again. By the time Rayne got there, he was grinding his teeth. "Listen, all I was doing up on that building was talking to that poor woman. I pulled her off of that ledge. You should be thanking me, not fucking arresting me." "Sit down, Mr. Stewart," Rayne said, waving her hand at the chair that he'd been pushed down in before. "What if I don't want to?" he said. "Are you putting me under arrest? If you are, do it, if not, take these cuffs off and let me out of here." "Belligerence isn't going to go too far with me, Mr. Stewart. Sit down!" He sat, glaring at her. She flipped some stray hair off of her face and slapped a file down in front of the other chair, sinking into it. "You are a puzzle, Mr. Stewart. I've searched every data base we have looking for a match to you. There are twenty-four David Stewarts in this county alone, but none of them seem to match you in any way but name. You have no paper trail, everybody has some kind of paper trail. Why don't you?" "I'm an angel," he said, knowing she wouldn't believe him. "Yeah, sure you are. Where are your wings?" Rayne asked, chuckling even as she watched him with a careful eye. "I've lost my wings, I'm a fallen angel that God has sent down here to perform tasks for him to reearn my wings." David sighed, knowing she wouldn't buy that one either. "It's the truth," he said. "You know, I could respect you more if you'd decide to tell the truth and stop with this farce." She rose to her feet and started toward the door. "Maybe you just need a bit of time to tell me the truth." She opened the door that led to a hallway and just behind her Dave caught a glimpse of the beautiful Carlie. "No," he said quickly. "I don't need anymore time. Please," he said, seeing Carlie's eyes turn bright red as he drew Rayne back inside. "I want to talk." "This had better be good," Rayne said softly, closing the door again and going back to her seat. "Okay, talk." "I was in an accident about a year ago and I have total amnesia. I have no real clue as to who I am or what I do. Since the hospital released me about eleven months ago, I've been traveling around trying to find out who I am. I took the name David Stewart because it felt familiar." "What hospital?" she asked, writing his answer down on the front cover of his file. "You know I have to call and check this out," she said. "Yeah," David said, praying that God would take care of that part for him, otherwise he was screwed. She got up and he saw Carlie once more, her beautiful eyes moving over him before she just seemed to pop out of existence. He let out a deep sigh, he'd gotten her once again. Next time he might not be so lucky. Twenty minutes later, Rayne walked back into the room, gesturing with her hand for him to rise. He did and he felt her fingers as she unlocked his cuffs, putting them back on her belt. "I'm sorry for that, Mr. Stewart. But we had to be sure." "And you are now?" he asked. "Yes, Dr. Hillgrove backed up your story and even faxed us a copy of your file and what little they'd been able to figure out about you." She put that folder down on the table between them now. David reached out, thumbing through the fake file. "Can I go now?" he asked. "Yes, sir, you're free to go with out apologies," she said. David hurried from the police station, skipping down the stairs out front. Spinning around, he spotted a small alleyway a few feet from him and he stepped into the shadows. Where Angels Fear to Tread Ch. 03 David stepped into the shadows of the alley his eyes straining to see the deity that he could hear calling his name. He finally found her, once more a little girl with the Shirley Temple curls and rosy cheeks. "Now why in the hell did you have me taken in by the cops?" he snarled, not in the best of tempers. It had been a very long, very bad day and he was tired and wanted nothing more than to go home. God barely deigned to glance at him. He pulled a jump rope from behind his back and began jumping, singing one of those cutesy ditties that kids sing when they jump. He only stopped when David reached out and wrenched the rope from his hands. "What?" he growled. "I was taken in a police car, in handcuffs and then frisked by a very big cop who'd eaten garlic very recently. I was held against my will and questioned. What the fuck are you thinking?" God crossed his arms and tried looking down his nose at David, a feat made pretty much impossible since he was a good two feet taller than He was. "There are reasons for what I do, David, reasons that I do not have to explain to you. But in this instance, I will. It was imperative that you meet Detective Hunter. And she had to be able to authenticate your background. You'll be helping her with some of her cases so she had to become familiar with you. Detective Hunter is one of those people that a certain Carlie that you keep thinking about has on radar. You must be with her to keep her from harm." David felt his teeth grinding even more. "For how long?" he snarled, wishing he could wrap the jump rope around the little girl's neck and pull hard. "Until I feel that the danger is over," God said with a shrug of his thin shoulders. Then he reached out, taking the jump rope back and turning David around at the same time. "Hurry, you'll miss your ride!" David found himself standing in the middle of a busy street, cars careening around him from both sides. His eyes grew wide and he threw himself to one side to miss being squashed by a bus. "Damnit, God! What the fuck?" "Language, language," an old man on the side of the road said as he finally made it across. "What would your mother say if she could hear you say things like that?" "My mother's been dead for centuries." He shrugged his shoulders and dug his hands into the pocket of his coat. A stray piece of paper was thrust deep inside his coat and he pulled it out slowly, seeing an address printed on it in neat block letters. "1302 E. Banger Street," he said aloud, jumping when the old man spoke again. "That's one street over," he said. "That way." David stared at the direction that the man had pointed and then waved a thank you, heading at a quick trot toward the address. It was a neat brownstone, flower boxes sitting on the front steps that were filled with gay-looking bright, red flowers. "Okay, I'm here, now what?" As if in answer, a scream came from inside the building and David started up the steps, breaking the long panel of glass beside the door handle to reach in and open the door. He stood in the small foyer, seeing a mailbox that had six names along six slots. As he was standing there, he heard the scream again. He tipped his head up, seeing the stairs and began taking them two at a time. By the time he got to the third floor, he was a bit winded. The door in front of him was ajar and he pushed it the rest of the way open, stepping into a well cared for living room. Moans and groans were coming from down the hallway and he took off toward the sound. A huge bathroom was ahead of him and he stopped, hearing the sound coming from behind the semi-closed door. "Hello?" "Ahh, God, help me, please!" the voice screamed and David pushed open the door. A very pregnant woman was laying on the bright white, hard linoleum floor. Her dress was pushed up and her thighs were spread. He could see a full head of hair that was pushing out from between those thighs and he took a step back, staring up at the ceiling. "You've got to be kidding me?" he growled softly. "I don't know nothing bout birthin no babies, boss." But the woman didn't care. Her face was screwed in a grimace of pain and strain as she pushed against the contractions that were coming quicker and stronger with every minute that passed. "Help me," she growled, holding her hand out toward him. David took his coat off and threw it across the closed toilet, kneeling down beside her. "My name is David," he said calmly, well, as calmly as he could. "What's yours?" "Christie, Christie Leads. Help me!" "I'm going to, Christie. Have you called for help?" "Yes, but they aren't going to get here in time. It's coming now!" She grabbed his hand, pushing it at her naked groin and the pulsing thing that was pushing from between her seeping pussy lips. David felt the baby's head and kneed his way around Christie's leg so that he was almost in the puddle of blood and goo that was seeped there. "Okay, Christie, I guess we're in this together." He could see the beginning of another contraction in the way her belly pulled tight and her thighs began to shake. "Push, Christie, push hard!" Christie grunted, her hands reaching forward to grab hold of her knees, straining and grunting as she pushed as hard as she could. David stared in awe as the baby's head slid out. He watched as the little one took its first breath and then a new little voice could be heard as he squeaked. He supported the baby, watching as Christie grunted again and the little shoulders burst into view. She screamed only once and then the baby was in his hands. He stared at the little baby he held, seeing the bright blue eyes staring up at him as if asking who he was. A pulsating thick blue cord connected the baby to her momma. David stood, reaching above Christie and grabbing two of the thick towels she must have gotten out before she'd lain on the floor. "Is it okay?" Christie asked, her voice sounding exhausted. "She's beautiful, Christie." He swaddled her tightly as he heard the first siren race up outside and then handed her to her mother. "She's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen," he said softly, his voice awed. Christie pushed the towel away from the baby's face, smiling in relief and happiness as she took in the perfection of her daughter. "Thank you, David. Thank you so much." David heard boots coming up the hallway and he stood, holding his gunked up hands to the side as the EMTs ran in. He tried to stay out of their way as they loaded Christie onto a gurney, carefully strapping her in. They did a quick check of the baby and then handed her back to her mother and began to pull the gurney out of the bathroom. Christie stopped them, holding out her hand to David. "My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for years. I've miscarried four times before this pregnancy. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here, David. You are an angel, an absolute angel." David wiped his gunky hand on the back of his jeans and then stroked his hand over Christie's cheek and then over the baby's. "I'm just glad I could help," he said honestly. Then he stepped back and let the EMT's carry her out as another man came skidding into the apartment, screaming Christie's name. David managed to straddle the puddle that was still on the floor and he used the sink to wash his hands then reached out for his jacket. "Okay, God, that was pretty cool, scary as hell, but pretty cool. What else are you going to throw at me?" He started to walk out of the apartment only to stop as a soft, curvaceous little bundle of female ran into him. "Whoa, are you...o...k?" he came to a stuttered halt, staring into Carlie's sweet blue eyes. "Hello, David," she said with a small smirk. "Fancy running into you here. You and I need to have a talk about the things that you're doing." She held out a small hand, indicating that he should make himself comfortable. "Now why would I want to talk to you about what I'm doing?" David asked, not bothering to sit. "You and I are similar, David. We're both fallen angels. I've just learned to enjoy my sinning ways instead of trying to get back in His good graces. You should give it a try." She reached behind her, quickly slipping the ties of the halter she wore. Letting it drop into her hands, she traced her finger over the heavy curve of her luscious breasts, twisting it around her nipple. "You remember what these feel like, don't you?" David felt his cock hardening even as he tried to ignore the sight of those beautiful mammeries. "It doesn't matter if I do or not. We have nothing to discuss." He rose to leave only to have Carlie stop him, her hand on his chest, the other reaching down for his hand. She filled his hand with one of her tits, squeezing his fingers around it and moaning lustfully. She stared up at him from under thick lashes, wetting her lips with two swipes of her soft pink tongue. "You want me, David. I can feel it." David felt as if he was going to explode in his pants. "God, help me," he growled. He reached up, trying to grab her hand to throw her away from him but his hand slid around her waist instead and he felt his gaze locked on her pretty, red mouth. "That's it, David. Think how good it will feel to push your big cock into this." She shimmied out of her jeans, not even bothering to undo her boots and then pushed his fingers between her thighs and into wet heat. David groaned, feeling his willpower slipping away as his finger slipped over the hardness of her clit. Her hips began undulating against his hand, her moans becoming breathy little cries that were even sexier. He cupped her pussy, unable to pull away even as she pushed aside his coat, running her hands over his chest and down his stomach. "Nice," she moaned, pulling at his tee-shirt to let her soft hand pet across his chest. "Fuck me, David?" The question broke his fascination with the way she felt and he pulled his hand away. "No!" Carlie slipped her hand down to take over what he'd stopped, pulling her pussy lips apart so that he could watch her finger disappear inside of her. "Are you sure?" she moaned, licking her lips once more. "Are you sure you don't want to fuck me?" David moaned, feeling his will to ignore the urges of his body disappear. He wanted her with every ounce of his newly human body. His cock throbbed inside his jeans and he longed to have her unbutton them, and feel her hot, wet mouth slide over the shaft, suckling him in. The need was almost impossible to ignore and he tried to move backwards but she stalked him, taking a step every step he took. She was graceful, even with her ankles hampered by her tight jeans and her fingers busily playing in her soft pussy. "Touch me, David. Free will, you know He believes in that." She groaned as his hand reached out, brushing her fingers aside and sliding into her heat. She clamped her pussy down around his fingers, rhythmically squeezing his fingers, letting him feel how his cock would fit inside of her. "Make love with me, David," she whispered, her voice a breathless rasp. Her hand grabbed at his shirt, tugging at it, trying to strip it off of him. She pushed aside his coat, letting it fall to his feet. "Touch me," she ordered again, rubbing her bared breasts against his chest. "I want you, David. Can't you feel how much I want you?" David could. It scared him how much he could feel her want. It scared him that he felt as if he had no control over his emotions, that he was little more than a pawn at her hands. He shivered as she rubbed her palms over his chest, his nipples hardening against her fingers. He groaned, his head falling back as she kept caressing him. He had no free will, she'd stripped it from him with the touch of her fingers. Her hands reached for his waistband, sliding over it, teasing him with sly touches. She unbuttoned his jeans, loosing his hard cock. It stood hard, throbbing under her hand as she stroked it gently. "Yes, you want me," she said silkily. "This will be so good, David. You won't regret going against Him and joining with me." It took a moment but her words finally hit him and he frowned, jerking his hands and his body away from him. "No, I won't do this." He stuffed his hard cock back in his pants, wincing at the pain it caused. Glaring at Carlie, he tugged his shirt down. "I do have free will and my free will says for you to go back to hell. Fuck with your imps and leave me the hell alone!" Carlie shrieked and before his eyes, she changed. Her body shifted and twisted, growing knobby and black. Her mouth became a gaping maw full of sharp, glittering white teeth. Her fingers were curved into claws and she hissed, slashing through the air at David with deadly intent. He jumped back and then stood his ground, laughing as the demon in front of him started to smoke. "Demon, get thee behind me," he sang. A flame started on the demon's twisted back and then he heard Carlie's voice shriek and then cry out his name as the flames grew bigger. A harsh wind blew through the apartment and the smell of rotten eggs filled the air The demon blew apart, ashes scattering around him before disappearing all together. All that was left was the horrid stench and even that was dissipating. David stared at the place Carlie had been and jumped when a hand tugged at the edge of his shirt. "That was close," the little blonde girl said, looking up at him. "Why didn't you help me with that?" he asked, his voice hard. "Free will, my son. Free will must be observed. If it isn't then I become dictator and not the gentle God that I am." David scoffed. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're full of shit?" "Your girlfriend did once." She nodded her blonde curls. "You see what it got him." David rolled his eyes. "Okay, was that some kind of test?" The little girl pulled a kazoo from behind her back and began playing it, the noise jarring and annoying. She grinned around the kazoo, her eyes full of mischief. The sound was jarring, especially since he was still trying to forget the way Carlie's hands had felt on his body. "Fine!" he shouted. "What's next?" She took one hand off the kazoo and waved a ticket in front of his face. He reached for the ticket and growled when she pulled it away, teasing him for a moment with the small slip of cardboard. "Don't be late," she said when he finally grabbed it, nodding her head. David felt a whirl of nausea as the room disappeared and he was suddenly standing on the street again, but this time he was far from Christie's apartment. He shrugged his shoulders in the heavy duster. "Here we go again."